Living with wildlife and how to do it seems to be everybody’s business. That is, everyone seems to have an opinion these days. If it is not the internet it is the times we live in. Nothing wrong with the give and take of ideas. But when you have responsibilities decisions have to be made. Nobody is made out of endless time and money, well most of us. We have to weigh our ethics with our responsibilities.
Last year we found wild turkeys tapping on office building windows, deer on playing fields, and wild geese finding more options to nest. While I’m all for dolphins in the channels in Venice I don’t want my vegetable garden overrun, overeaten by rabbits. The solution for me is the dogs. We have dogs, mostly Border Collies to herd-chase those rabbits and bark at the coyotes some nights. We have kept the vegetable gardens, sheep, and poultry for years now protected by fences and dogs.
So, why “control” the numbers of geese on your property? Whether you have a home or a park or golf course or playing feilds, wild geese can overtake the property. We work with a school district that used to have “wall to wall geese”. That would be several hundred for months on its fields and playgrounds. That “wall to wall” came with poop. If geese are that numerous and water is involved there is strong evidence that pollution issues are present. I once helped a lovely apartment complex with several ponds. This was when they also had several hundred geese show up daily. The ponds smelled like an industrial agricultural facility. That was not very healthy of other species of birds or animals or reptiles and amphibians. I don’t think at the time the apartment residents went near the ponds.
The other issue with wild geese is aggression. Domestic geese have been kept by people in part as watch animals. They are noisy and will attack anyone they are worried about. Wild male geese will protect their territory during nesting and sometimes when their young are small not only from wild animals but sometimes from humans. Geese like people have different personalities and will react differently in circumstances. The last issue with wild geese is the devastation of farm crops and gardens. Most people do not think of this but wild birds and animals do eat planted crops and farmers most of who have small margins lose a lot to feeding wildlife. Geese being in large flocks and bold can eat down a newly sprouted field overnight.
So, what do you do? Geese as with other wildlife can be “dealt with” by lethal means. Or, wildlife, wild geese populations can be “controlled” by using non-lethal means, lived with. Fences, human presence, dogs have aided farmers since ancient times and planning. You should know what you are doing by reading and or talking to experts or people with experience. As you know there is a lot of misinformation out there which will lead to a waste of your time and money. Dogs and Border Collies are a good solution but only if you have practice. For further info on why you should choose Border Collie over other breeds, I have several blog posts addressing that.
Happy Spring!